By Conrad Head
Under the Friday night lights in Fannin County there’s no chance that Coach Chad Cheatham won’t be there fired up in his trademark wind breaker, khakis, and tennis hat. Born and raised in Fannin County to parents, Steve and Barbara Cheatham, Cheatham’s roots run deep.
“I began playing football in 1978 inspired to play by my father,” he said with a warm smile. Role models such as his dad, his grandparents, and coaches, Bill Prather and Don Kendall, helped shape him into the man he is today.
Cheatham cares a lot about the community he grew up in because of the fond memories he has of it.
“My childhood wasn’t much different than kids today, just not as much technology. We spent a lot of time in the woods, we spent a lot of time fishing and spent a lot of time camping” he grinned.
“I went to kindergarten and a put a helmet on. My dad was coaching my rec ball team, and man, there was just something about hitting people and not getting in trouble for it,” he said with a laugh. Football was something for Cheatham that taught him more lessons than anything else. As a high-strung kid Cheatham learned how to stay disciplined through football.
Education and youth development are close to Cheatham’s heart.
“I had a love for the kids,” he said. His passion for both teaching and coaching goes beyond the classroom and the field. Cheatham teaches a pathway at the high school for students wanting to become teachers, in a way that most don’t, by using his life experiences and how they have shaped him as a man. The relationships he builds with his students and players are what matters most to him.
Coaching in the same community he grew up in comes with challenges. With a grim look he said, “It gets lonely.” While being surrounded by people he grew up knowing can be a blessing, it can also create unrealistic expectations. Sometimes, it makes forming genuine friendships difficult.
Cheatham is now happily married to, “the love of his life,” Kathrine Cheatham, who has always been there to help and support him through his hardest times as a coach. His proudest moments don’t come from wins or titles, but they come from watching his children Braxton and Annaleigh, grow up and succeed. “I’m extremely proud of who they are, what they do, and what they’ve accomplished despite my name,” he spoke with a gleam in his eyes. His kids are constantly getting compared to him because of how big of a name and presence he has in Fannin County. Despite this, they continue to make their own name and history.
Cheatham adds that he doesn’t care about winning championships or rings. “It’s the intangible things that matter most” he said with a serious look on his face. Cheatham cares about the things that will last longer than the trophies and rings; he cares about the memories and the way he got there.
While Friday night football is something he lives for, it’s the preparation that truly gets him hooked. Every Sunday, he and his coaching staff meet to study and make a game plan, making sure they’re ready to coach their players to the best of their ability. Above all else, he wants his players to know one thing: “That they know I care about them,” he said with a heartfelt look in his eyes.
Cheatham’s coaching philosophy is simple and powerful. He doesn’t care how good or bad a player is. What matters to him is fairness and respect. “There is a fine line between being a friend and being a leader,” he explained with a stern look on his face. He explains this balance isn’t always easy, but it’s something he works hard to maintain. He aims to be close to his students and fellow teachers while still setting the tone and leading with authority.
Leadership, to Cheatham, isn’t about talent. “It’s about character,” he replied, nodding his head. “I look for someone who is on time and shows up, and how they treat their teammates.”
Discipline is expected not only from the team but from himself as well. “Tradition doesn’t graduate,” he said with a smile. He knows that as a coach, he must model the behavior he expects from his players.
“The standard is the standard,” he exclaimed. Cheatham knows what type of football he wants to play, and that type is physical, so he makes sure that the standard is always set high when it comes to being physical in football. Physicality isn’t just something that everyone can be committed too, so Cheatham makes sure that his players are as physical as it gets. This standard is also carried out through not only the players, but the whole coaching staff who try their hardest every day to coach at the best of their abilities.
Football plays a major role in shaping young people, and Cheatham believes it helps define who you are and what you do. He’s faced profound loss throughout his life, both on and off the field. The passing of his best friend and offensive line coach, Bo James, as well as one of his players, John Holsenback, deeply impacted him. In those moments of grief, he asked himself, “How would I use tragedy for triumph?”
These experiences have molded Cheatham into a man who values people over the game.
“Records are made to be broken,” he says, but what he truly hopes to leave behind is a legacy of love and care. “Were they loved? Were they cared about? Were they treated like my own son and daughter? And how did I represent myself in front of them?” he explained in a sincere manner.
Though his passion for football is undeniable, his love for his family, peers, students, players, and the Lord is even stronger. Cheatham wants to be remembered not just as a football coach, but as a father, a friend, and a follower of Christ.
Cheatham relates to his players and students more than most think. “I struggle just like they do,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. These words reflect his character, his honesty, and his desire to connect. Cheatham is more than a coach; he’s a role model who leads with passion and fire. He admits when he’s wrong and never stops striving to do what’s best for those around him.
*Editor’s note: This is another in a series of personality profiles written by students in Jodi Williams’
English 1101 class at the University of North Georgia Blue Ridge campus. Each story is a first hand account of a local
person who has made an impact on the author. As you read these stories, you will hear of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.